Portrait of a yogini creator of LagOm: Anna Ilkovics
Anna Ilkovics, Swedish and living in Belgium, has a career as a client director. For over 20 years, her job has been to meet the needs of others, a model she also tends to apply within her family.
It was the discovery of yoga and meditation that taught him that taking care of others involves, first and foremost, taking care of oneself.
Anna then followed several mindfulness training courses and practiced yoga and meditation on a daily basis and participated in numerous retreats.
After a few years, she now decides to share her world and launches LagOm Balance which organizes yoga retreats. Anna partners with the best yoga and meditation teachers, finds magical places, chooses vegetarian chefs with care and always brings an extra touch like a shiatsu workshop, a sound bath or a naturopathy workshop. Everything is brought together to reconnect with yourself for a weekend or a week.
It was only natural that I asked him a few personal questions about his yoga practice, which I am sharing with you today.
HOW DID YOU GET TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF?
I discovered yoga and meditation 3 years ago during a retreat in Tulum, Mexico. I arrived there a bit by chance and immediately felt calm, centered and composed. It became obvious and a real necessity. Suddenly, a whole new universe opened up to me.
I haven't stopped since, to the point of going to Bali alone last year for two months of yoga and meditation.
Currently I am starting my own business LagOM Balance as a yoga retreat organizer. LagOm is a Swedish word that means neither too much nor too little, just right. It is the right balance. I believe that everyone can find their own balance without necessarily having to change their lifestyle. You don't have to give up everything and live like a hermit to feel better. For example, a few days of calm, from time to time, are enough to take care of yourself and can be enough to compensate for a stressful daily life. I really believe that balance is the basis of well-being and that yoga and meditation are tools to achieve it. By the way, in LagOM there is the universal sound OM, is it really a coincidence?
WHAT PRACTICE FOR YOUR WELL-BEING?
It depends on my mood and my physical state. Sometimes more flow, or hatha and at other times yin or restorative. I also like wall yoga or even sometimes hot yoga. That's what I love about yoga, you always find what you need through the different practices.
WHAT IS THE RITUAL OF YOUR PRACTICE?
I like to arrive early in the room. Sit on my mat, in lotus position, close my eyes and forget the outside world. I love the expression "arrive in the moment". I really feel like I'm arriving, catching up. This moment of silence, just before the class begins, is essential to me.
WHAT DO YOU GET FROM IT?
A calm, a well-being and I find myself centered afterwards. The emotions are soothed and strangely if I have questions, a dilemma or a decision to make, the answers come to me quite naturally at the end of the practice without even having thought about it during the session. It always impresses me as much.
WHAT DO YOU CARRY IN YOUR YOGA BAG?
My yoga mat, very thin that I take everywhere and that I place on the studio mat, a small towel, my water bottle and an elastic for my hair.
WHAT IS YOUR FETISH OBJECT/ACCESSORY?
I don't really have a fetish object. On the other hand, I have a tattoo, it's a 50th birthday present from my best friends. It's a lotus flower above two lines of waves that represents the sea. It is inside my foot and I see it in every posture. It is very symbolic for me.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR TAYRONA YOGINIS?
To listen to yourself. I've only been doing yoga for 3 years, I don't have much strength, there are postures I still don't know how to do, like Bakasana and handstands. But it doesn't matter. I get all the physical and mental benefits without forcing myself or trying to be perfect. I progress at my own pace and I feel good.
WHERE / HOW DO YOU PRACTICE?
I am registered at a studio in Brussels that offers a wide variety of classes, every day and with great teachers. I always find a session that suits my schedule and my needs. Otherwise, when I travel, I take the opportunity to try new studios and meet new teachers. In Bali, in 6 weeks, I had the chance to test more than fifteen different studios. This trip taught me a lot.
WHAT IS YOUR MANTRA/FAVORITE PHRASE?
I have two:
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